Breaking News

Today in History

Published 7:00 pm, Sunday, February 16, 2003

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2003. There are 316 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 18, 1885, Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published in the United States for the first time.

On this date:

In 1546, Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, died.

In 1564, artist Michelangelo died in Rome.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Ala.

In 1930, the ninth planet of our solar system, Pluto, was discovered.

In 1960, the Eighth Winter Olympic Games were formally opened in Squaw Valley, Calif., by Vice President Nixon.

In 1970, the "Chicago Seven" defendants were found innocent of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention.

In 1972, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty.

In 1977, the space shuttle "Enterprise," sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its maiden "flight" above the Mojave Desert.

In 1988, Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn in as the 104th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died from injuries suffered in a crash at the Daytona 500; he was 49.

Ten years ago: President Clinton hosted a campaign-style rally at St. Louis' Union Station to enlist citizen support for his economic plan.

Five years ago: President Clinton's foreign policy team encountered jeers during a town meeting at Ohio State University while trying to defend the administration's threat to bomb Iraq into compliance with U.N. weapons edicts. Sportscaster Harry Caray died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 83.

One year ago: Addressing Japan's national legislature, President Bush said the country's recession-ravaged economy was "on the path to reform," and he urged the Diet to help curb the spread of terrorism in the region. France's Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat narrowly won the Olympic ice dancing gold medal.